oddly enough

oddly enough

W. Pa. city will end ticket fixing after report

LATROBE, Pa.

A western Pennsylvania city says it will ban ticket fixing after a scathing consultant’s report found some business owners and others were given so much preferential treatment that “parking rules are disregarded and ignored.”

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Thursday that Latrobe City Manager Alexander Graziani, Mayor Barbara Griffin and police Chief James Dumar all deny fixing tickets. The city officials say from now on, anyone with a parking beef will be told to file an appeal with the local district judge.

The report doesn’t detail who fixed the tickets or why, and the city isn’t going to investigate how much money it lost in parking fines due to the ticket fixing.

Instead, the manager of this city 45 miles east of Pittsburgh says he’s focusing “on moving forward and instituting fair practices.”

Pa. woman’s ‘cop fantasy’ has unhappy ending: DUI

ALTOONA, Pa.

A state trooper says an extremely drunk woman met him at the door wearing underpants and holding two yellow roses she wanted him to accept as part of her “cop fantasy” — before he charged her with drunken driving instead.

The Altoona Mirror reported Thursday that Trooper Thomas Laskey went to a residence March 20 after a motorist reported they were following a car that had been driving erratically on Interstate 99. Laskey says 40-year-old Monica Barnhart answered the door and matched the description he had of the driver — except that she had taken off her blue jeans and was wearing only underpants.

Police say Barnhart eventually acknowledged driving the car and that her blood- alcohol content was more than four times the legal limit for drivers.

Barnhart’s attorney says she maintains her innocence.

Dog eats tickets to Masters golf tournament

SEATTLE

Russ Berkman’s dream came true when he won a lottery for four passes to Wednesday’s practice round at the Masters golf tournament in Georgia. But the Seattle-area resident’s stomach turned when he found his dog, Sierra, had eaten them.

Berkman told KJR radio Tuesday he was determined to go. His girlfriend told him he had to make Sierra puke.

He induced vomiting and recovered a gooey glob. Then he went to work trying to put about 20 vomit-covered pieces back together.

He says he recovered about 70 percent of the tickets. He took photos and explained the situation to the Augusta National Golf Club as “my dog ate my Masters tickets!”

They reprinted Berkman’s tickets and had them waiting for him in Georgia.

Associated Press